What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

[Mike]

What memories do you have about camping with your parents? Good memories? Bad memories?

I remember my dad really seemed like a dad when we were camping. There were spooky sounds and shadows, but dad seemed to make them go away.

I remember how he would light up the Coleman lantern at night and how he would make coffee on a green suitcase Coleman stove in the morning. FAWHOOOMP! The Coleman would light up with a small explosion. I don't think Dad ever read the instructions for using the lantern, but it worked for him anyway.

I remember how my mother would entertain us kids with crazy stories and the silliest things to keep our young minds occupied. She would catch trout with quick lures she made from a simple hook and the tin foil from her cigarette wrappers.

How about you? What are your memories?

[Avery1979]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

Listening to country music, having the air on full blast in the camper, having dad cook all the meals outside. Just hanging out with family.

[James.]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

I don't have a lot of specific memories of camping when I was a kid. I will give you 3 that jump to mind.

My mom put my brother an I in the Boy Scouts and my dad signed up to be a scout leader. That meant monthly camping trips for us. I had one of the old 2 man pup tents (I still don't see how 2 men could fit in one of those) and on one of the first trips out my canteen leaked water all over my sleeping bag and soaked it pretty well through. I, being young, was in a panic at this catastrophic event. Not knowing what to do I told my dad who simply said to open it up and lay it over the top of my tent. I did and of course it dried out in no time (remember I am in Arizona...the middle of the freaking desert) Lesson learned...don't panic just deal with the problem. I thank my dad for that lesson every once in a while.

Second memory was of a time, again with the Boy Scouts, when a bunch of us wandered off and found a large hill with a steep slope that had been used by someone as a dump. We grabbed anything we could find to use as makeshift sleds and had a blast sliding down that thing all day. It is a wonder nobody broke anything.

Third is a camping trip with the family. I had a dome tent by then and learned another valuable lesson. Always stake your tent down. Even if there isn't any wind always stake your tent down. Especially if you are close to the side of a cliff. Always stake your tent down.

[gmann]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

I have numerous memories of camping with my family. We camped a lot. Due to "life" getting in the way I wandered from the outdoors as an adult. My father suddenly passed away in February of 2013. It was during the grieving process that I kept going back to the memories I had of my father and my family and time and time again those memories revolved around camping. I have two young boys and I made a commitment late last fall to get them involved in the outdoors. We are looking forward to creating many memories........

One of my fonder memories of camping involved my brother. As a family we were camping in Yellowstone. It was an extremely windy afternoon and we just set up camp. I was around eleven years old or so and my brother would have been about 9. Anyways, I was walking back from the bathroom and the very strong wind was at my back. I was a good 50 yards or so from our site. My bother was making a fire. He was using lighter fluid and he was putting quite a bit of effort into it by squeezing the can of lighter fluid. I would have to say that it bordered on excessive. He got on all fours on the windward side of the fire pit and lit a match and "WHOOF!!!!!!" My brother disappeared in a fireball that quickly died out. I ran up to him. He was ok but he was missing almost all of his eyelashes and eyebrows and his bangs were singed. The expression on his face was priceless. One of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. In fact as I type this I have lol'd and I have tears rolling down my face from laughter. Good times.

[Mike]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

Ha ha haaaa. Great story Gmann!

[NYCgrrl]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

I've nooooooooo memories of camping with family as a kiddo. There was no such thing fer the Donna Reed wannabee that me Mum was aspiring to be pre-divorce:p. During the summer, you sent the kiddos ''back 'ome" (the West Indies) or picnicked under the Whitestone Bridge; took the DayLiner to Bear Mountain or drove upstate to pick strawberries, very few of which actually made it past your berry stained face and hands to become jam.

Have interesting recollections of camping at Quidnunc as a Girl Scout for one summer though.

[actad]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

My mom was a Girl Scout leader. I have two sisters and we camped every summer at Rockwood National Girl Scout Camp in Potomac, Maryland. It is now closed. I vividly remember the bunk houses and the craft tables. Tall Timbers must have been where we stayed as that rings a bell. http://www.vintagegirlscout.com/siterock.html

Camping with the whole family - including Dad and my little brother - was often at Assateague State Park. so the horses were a big part of my memories. Walking through the sand dunes to get to the beach when loaded down with gear and then coming back to the pop up camper to snooze after playing so hard all day is a memory, too. We had no indoor plumbing or electric and I don't think it was ever expected to camp with any amenities back then

We camped a lot at Skyline Drive, too. Big Meadows or Mathews Arm in Shenanadoah National Park was where we stayed. I remember that going to the lodge was a special treat and we could buy one item at the gift shop. I still have my fairy cross necklace from one trip. Fairy crosses are actually staurolite crystals. http://www.tellmewhereonearth.com/We...ne_Crosses.htm
I remember that we always took up empty jugs and we would stop on Skyline Drive. We would all climb out and fill them with the spring water bubbling out of the rocks right there at the roadside. My dad always insisted that the best way to drive on the winding road was to drive in a straight a line as possible, so that meant straddling lanes and changing lanes constantly. I bet he had a lot of cuss words that came his way from other motorists.

[MacGyver]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

I laughed when I read the title of this thread. I've always said that my father's idea of roughing it was staying at a Days Inn, three doors down from the ice machine. The closest my parents and I ever got to camping was day trips to Patapsco State Park. It wasn't until I got my driver's license at the age of 16 that I went camping. The only really memorable moment that stands out from that trip was my friend and I yelling and clapping to try to scare off "whatever it was" that was walking around the site. When that didn't work, we finally got up the nerve to peek out and discovered we'd been visited by a skunk. We got very quiet after that.

What I think is really amusing is that, just for the sake of nostalgia, I've been looking for a couple of months now to find the same style tent I used on my first trip. It was basically a simple version of the Big Agnes Scout UL 2. I just can't see spending anything close to $300 for a tent that you either have to use trekking poles for, or buy custom poles to make it work. If I'm going in for that much, I'd go even deeper into my pockets and have a custom canvas tent made to my specs.

[Mike]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

What I think is really amusing is that, just for the sake of nostalgia, I've been looking for a couple of months now to find the same style tent I used on my first trip. It was basically a simple version of the Big Agnes Scout UL 2. I just can't see spending anything close to $300 for a tent that you either have to use trekking poles for, or buy custom poles to make it work. If I'm going in for that much, I'd go even deeper into my pockets and have a custom canvas tent made to my specs.

It surprises me how many camping enthusiasts did not have camping parents to introduce them to the joy of it. As a kid growing up, my friends and I camped nearly every weekend together, but I was the only one who had camping parents.

McGuiver, I am willing to bet that the two man nylon pup tent you remember fondly from your childhood was not a $300 Big Agnes tent. The Big Agnes Scout UL 2 is a glorified two man pup tent. The concept really was excellent, though. They were light-weight and very easy to set up. I could get mine up in less than two minutes and was shooting for under a minute. Only a few models had a fly and of those few, some were actually just extended top panels to bring the rain flow farther away from the sidewalls.

I recently acquired a 1970's vintage single wall two-man A-frame pup-tent probably similar to your memories. I added a fly (that never existed) and waterproofed it. I typically do NOT use adjustable treking poles when I backpack, so I just whittle the two poles at camp as needed from sticks.

[MacGyver]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

I am willing to bet that the two man nylon pup tent you remember fondly from your childhood was not a $300 Big Agnes tent.

I didn't think I said it was. LOL The thing probably cost about $15 and didn't have all the bells and whistles of the BA. No fly, no eaves, no fancy-schmancy waterproof fabric...

[frank6160]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

My dad wasn't that much of a camper so never invested in equipmeent. We had family friends that had a tent we used when we would join them and camp. A few times he rented a pop up. He would take a huge cast iron kettle and make stew for all. Generally it would holiday weekends.

[ArizonaSportsman]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

Looking back at my childhood, I realize that many of my most clear memories were of the times we were camping. Without a doubt they are my fondest memories of my dad....probably because he was relaxed (on vacation....back when it was a vacation - no cell phones, no pagers, no way for work to contact you).

[terasec]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

my dad had a construction business in the 70's
his work truck was an old dodge beat up cargo van, loaded with tools during the week,
but weekends he would empty it out and it was our camper for the weekend,
often going to a campground just 30 minutes north of NYC,
good memories of camping out in that van,
we didnt have much, no sleeping bags(used blankets from home), no tents, just that van, a styrofoam cooler, and a hibachi for a grill bought at local lamstons,
many times when looking for things, oh i need this, need that, really need this, those times remind me, no i dont need all that, just get out and enjoy

[Mike]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

my dad had a construction business in the 70's
his work truck was an old dodge beat up cargo van, loaded with tools during the week,
but weekends he would empty it out and it was our camper for the weekend,
often going to a campground just 30 minutes north of NYC,
good memories of camping out in that van,
we didnt have much, no sleeping bags(used blankets from home), no tents, just that van, a styrofoam cooler, and a hibachi for a grill bought at local lamstons,
many times when looking for things, oh i need this, need that, really need this, those times remind me, no i dont need all that, just get out and enjoy

What a great story and what an excellent reminder that it is the "doing" that makes memories and not the "buying" of all the toys.

[James.]

Re: What are your best memories of camping with your parents?

What a great story and what an excellent reminder that it is the "doing" that makes memories and not the "buying" of all the toys.

Yeah, the buying is fun with all the gadgets and whatnot but really it is about getting out there and having fun. The gadgets are a small part of it.